Investigation Results – Google Search Engine would be dropped by 80% of users if used in prosecutions

22/11/2012

The investigation results are starting to emerge. One of the questions related to Google.

9. Would you stop using Google, if your search queries were made available to Insurance companies, Tax Officials or Law Enforcement to prosecute you?

Part of the investigation, was to see if Google’s invincible position in search could be jeopardised by it’s cooperation with law enforcement.

I deliberately did not give anyone the option of a middle ground. Surprisingly, no-one refused to answer.

80% of Google users are likely to abandon it as their search engine if they were prosecuted using search terms obtained from Google. That has serious implications for Google, if users ever discover how cosy they are with law enforcement.

Lawyers know that Google have that data, and they all want access. Nick Pickles of Big Brother Watch mentioned in the interview he gave me, that divorce lawyers in particular want access to their records, and will issue court orders to get it. This at a guess is the same for bankruptcy courts, bailiffs, and anyone who can make up a half hearted reason to gain access.

So, we can infer that Google’s policy of co-operating with authorities, may well cause them collateral damage, as suffered by Rupert Murdoch, in his hacking scandal. The News of the World was shut down overnight due to the public backlash.